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Ms. DeJesus was 14 when she was reported missing on April 2, 2004. Raised in a close Puerto Rican family, she was a fun-loving teenager, friends say. "She liked to dance, crack jokes and be with the family," Ricardo DeJesus, Gina's brother, told reporters.

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She was last seen at a payphone calling her mom around 3 p.m. on her way home from school, the friends said.

She had planned to go that night with a friend named Arlene Castro to Brookpark Skateland, a complex in southwestern Cleveland, but Arlene's mother canceled the date, the friends said. Arlene couldn't be reached for comment, and her mother is deceased. Instead, Ms. DeJesus tried to walk home and disappeared, the friends said. She was exceptionally trusting, say friends and neighbors.

ENLARGE

This image provided by the FBI shows an undated photo of Georgina "Gina" Dejesus.
Associated Press

The weekend before, Destiny Fowler, now 23, had been skating with Ms. DeJesus at Skateland. "The next Saturday, she wasn't there anymore," said Mrs. Fowler.

Amanda Berry, 27

Ms. Berry disappeared on April 21, 2003, just after leaving the Burger King where she worked. It was the day before her 17th birthday. She had piercings in her ears and eyebrow, and liked rap music, say neighbors.

A neighbor, John Trefero, recalled vigils on the street in which people played music by Eminem, a favorite of Ms. Berry's, he said.

Ms. Berry's mother, Louwana Miller, died in 2006. "The mother tried to stay positive," Mr. Trefero. But over time the lack of any news weighed Ms. Miller down emotionally. "She died of a broken heart is what most people would say," he said.

In a statement to media, the sister of Amanda Berry requested privacy as she returned home from being kidnapped from a Cleveland neighborhood 10 years ago. Photo: AP.

Michelle Knight, 32

Ms. Knight was 21 when she went missing on August 22, 2002. She had a troubled relationship with her mother, Barbara, who now lives in Florida, according to interviews with their relatives by CNN and other news reports. Her mother couldn't be reached for comment.

The three women who emerged from a Cleveland home on Monday years after they were reported missing are the rarest of kidnap victims: They appear to have been taken by a stranger, were held captive for years—and lived to tell about it. Jack Nicas reports.

Relatives have said they found out she had been kidnapped only when she was rescued. Because of the strained relationship between Ms. Knight and the family, a missing-persons report wasn't filed, they said.

Deborah Knight, a cousin who lives near Cleveland, said she and Barbara are "excited and scared at the same time." Deborah Knight remembered Ms. Knight as smiling and outgoing before she was abducted. "I love her. I want her to know I'm here for her," she said.

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